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Chiroptera Robotics Research Labs
Production notes for CyBat
What is CyBat?
Cutting-Room Floor:
Communication:
Flying:
A unique take-off:
CyBat is your pocket-sized autonomous robotic pet. He communicates with you, learns and develops his own unique personality, flies, and interacts with other CyBats.
CyBat was developed using the common vampire bat as a model.
The vampire bats are extremely maneuverable on the ground as well as in the air.
They are specially adapted to being able to quickly scuttle along the ground to approach their prey (such as livestock), as well as to quickly leap out of the way to avoid being stepped on. This maneuverability was important to us, as we wanted our bat to be able to be more than simply an autonomous plane. In order to better relate to people, he needed to be able to be on the same level, and crawl and “walk” on table surfaces, etc. where people can more easily play with him. Vampire bats also have a remarkable ability to take to flight straight from the ground. They spring straight into the air from a crouch and begin to fly. It was our interest at the Chiroptera Robotic Research Labs to develop a way to duplicate this unique method of taking to the air.
Much research has gone into the development of small flying robots (MAVs, or Micro Air Vehicles ) for the purpose of military surveillance and possible interplanetary exploration. We at CRRL, however, were interested in developing a small flying robot for entertainment purposes. Partially inspired by Sony’s AIBO robotic dog, we wanted to create a unique autonomous pet which would fit in your pocket, thus encouraging one to keep it with them and make it a real part of their life, and were intrigued by the added possibility of making the pet fly and perform ariel tricks.
While developing CyBat, there were some ideas we discussed that we decided not to use, and some conventions of “virtual pets” that we decided not to adopt. We decided that, even though we wanted to closely approximate what having a pet bat would be like, we also wanted to find a balance that would make the bat fun to have and play with. We didn’t want to eliminate the sense of responsibility that came with having a pet, but we also didn’t want the work-to-fun ratio to fall on the work side. For example, CyBat does not have to eat in order to stay healthy. You can “feed” him as a reward or to give him attention, but he will not get sick if he is not fed. Even though all real animals have to eat to stay alive, we tried to avoid behaviors that would fundamentally penalize the owner for not doing exactly the right thing, and getting to a point where they take the batteries out because they would rather not deal and sticking CyBat into the closet. It was this same anti-closet theory which led us to develop a mostly quiet pet. CyBat does have a number of squeaks he uses for purposes of communication, but most of the time he is content to stay quiet. On the other hand, CyBat is not programmable like AIBO. You can encourage him to learn certain behaviors, but ultimately, CyBat will do what he wants. The only exception to this is that you can remote-control fly him if you want, but the main intent of this was to allow you to get him out of hard to reach places if he gets stuck.
CyBat has a series of distinct squeaks which he uses to communicate with you. He will tell you when he is stuck, when he is low on energy, and when he is happy. He will also communicate with other CyBats.
CyBat has three flying modes; off (for when you don’t want CyBat to fly around), remote control, and autonomous. In off mode, CyBat will still walk, play, and communicate, he simply doesn’t fly. In remote control mode, you can use the remote control to show CyBat your favorite tricks, and to get him out of a tight spot if he gets stuck. In autonomous mode, CyBat has the option to take off and fly if he wants to. He will perform tricks for you and fly around wherever he wants to go, using his sonar to avoid obstacles.
CyBat has flexible wings which turn like a live bat’s wings. They also fold up for when he wants to run along the ground.
(A whole lot of research has gone into making small flying robots. Many approaches have been taken to keep these small flying machines in the air, from the use of propellers, to simply relying on the force of an engine to keeping it in the air. Although some research has gone into flapping flight, it has proven very tricky to bring to fruition, and many of the current models don’t actually fly. Still, some interesting research, mostly based on insect models, is being done. The Vanderbilt insects are based on attempts to replicate the fact that insects flap their wings five times faster than their brains can handle. Researchers have discovered that part of the reason they are able to do this is due to vibrations of the insect’s whole exoskeleton, and the Vanderbilt team is experimenting with similar-vibrating metal “spines” for their robots. Time and again, the same problems arise when modeling robots from nature: nature is extremely subtle. A researcher can follow all of the same “rules” nature uses, bit by bit for making an animal fly. But, invariably, there seems to be something missing.)
CyBat uses the same type of take off that a real vampire bat does. That is, he leaps off the ground straight into the air and begins flying. This makes CyBat extremely maneuverable, and able to get in and out of most places without help.
(The launching of MAVs is not usually outlined in the research I have read. “The Bat” is hand-launched, while the AeroViornment’s “Black Widow” is shot from special holsters designed to be attached to a soldier on a military operation. If a flying robot is to be truly autonomous, however, it should be able to land and take off on it’s own. The vampire bat provides a very good real-life model for this, as they are able to literally leap from the ground straight into flight.)
Learning:
CyBat learns and develops his own unique personality. The more you do a particular trick in remote-control flying mode, the more CyBat will do it on his own when he is in Autonomous flight mode. CyBat likes attention, and the more you play with him and pet him, the more playful and interactive he will become. You can also reward him with bat treats for doing a behavior you want to encourage, or for simply saying you love him.
Echo-location:
CyBat uses sonar to find his way around, just like real bats do. He can avoid obstacles while on the ground or in flight, find objects he likes, and even tell you apart from the surrounding environment.
(There has been amazing work done with echo-location in robotics. Yale University's Rodolph has sonar that is so good at it can tell the whether a flipped coin lands heads or tails side up. Video cameras remain the preferred method of “sight” for MAVs, however. Probably because it is closer to human sight, and can be used to take pictures of things for human beings.)
Interaction with other CyBats:
CyBat will interact with others of its kind. He will tend to cuddle with other CyBats, and can “talk” to them, and even learn new tricks from them. If another CyBat is low on energy, your CyBat will tend to offer it some of its own energy.
Vampire Bats have been observed sharing blood with other vampire bats if they come back to roost hungry. Bats are very sociable creatures (with each other), and we wanted to make our CyBat just as friendly.
Bat-Finder key-chain:
The BatFinder key-chain control offers limited amount of control over your CyBat in a format you can carry around with you wherever you and you CyBat go. You can use it to switch between flight modes, and to put your CyBat to sleep. You can also use it to find your CyBat if he gets lost or stuck. Press the BatFinder button, and CyBat, wherever he is, will wake up (if he is sleeping) and emit a series of squeaks which you can use to find him.
